"Judas and the Black Messiah" is an American English-language movie that premiered in 2021, so really recent indeed and I got the chance to see this on the big screen the other day. I was also a bit surprised how the open air theater was really packed that day compared to previous days. It probably also had to do with the good weather, not just with this movie, even if I do not want to take anything away from it in terms of quality. The movie runs for over two hours and that makes it a fairly long movie. There is pretty much every awards season one movie with focus on African Americans that really scores big, frequently two or even three films as well, and this is the one from the 2020/2021 awards season. It took home many, many awards, including two Oscars. One was for Daniel Kaluuya and that was no surprise because he dominated the awards season really from beginning to end and was the only safe Oscar win on Academy Award night if we look at the four acting categories. The second Oscar went to Best Song and that was surely a surprise because if I remember correctly, the song from this film that indeed won was only number 4 in terms of probability with the bookmakers. I must say I am still a bit baffled by that win. Did not find the song particularly memorable. Maybe it had to do with the subject, but even there they recently went for Elton John over songs about slavery, so yeah it stays a mystery. Apart from that, the film was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Screenplay and there was another acting nomination in the category that Kaluuya won, plus finally a nomination for the cinematography, the one category where maybe the biggest Oscar night upset happened. If we look at Best Supporting Actor though, it is a bit debatable if Kaluuya was really supporting. He was probably no less lead than in Get Out. In that film, by the way, Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield were starring together as well with the latter's character really not having a lot of screen time. In this film here, Stanfield is lead, not open for discussion. Even with Kaluuya getting first credit and Stanfield being nominated for a supporting Oscar, he is 100% lead.

The man (yep, a man, you cannot be sure with this name) behind this movie most of all was writer and director Shaka King. Some short film works, a stoner movie, some television work and now this. Really shows you that it does not matter what you worked on in the past. He was definitely in the right spot at the right time and even the Best Director nomination was not far away. But this year, they picked women and Asian Americans mostly instead. That's okay. King was one of three writers here too. The other two are no big names either. One has worked on a few fairly famous television shows and the other was more of an actor in the past. Definitely a breakthrough for all of them with the Oscar nomination(s) here. And I do not mind the writing nomination at all. It's a tensely written movie with nice attention to detail and I enjoyed the watch as I stated in the title of my review already. I really struggle to this day with the film's title though. Of course, they want Kaluuya's character to be seen as somebody groundbreaking, a great speaker with lots of willpower and dedication, but the comparison to a KKK leader that we hear on several occasions from the bad guy is not entirely absurd. Let's be very clear here. The Black Panthers were a group of radicals. It's absolutely wrong to compare Fred Hamton to the Messiah, i.e. To Jesus Christ. The ways in which he connected groups and managed to do away with boundaries may be one parallel, but his take on the White race is nothing to be proud of at all. Of course, the movie, in times like these with Hollywood more liberal than ever, cannot depict the character as an antagonist. By the way, with the Fred Hampton inclusion here, you could watch this film together with another new movie (that was also nominated for a Supporting Actor Oscar),namely The Trial of the Chicago 7. Hampton is part of that film too, obviously played by a different actor.

Anyway, I am not too happy with Kaluuya's win. Nothing wrong with the actor or performance, but yeah, this category has become a bit of a category where they focus on Black actors receiving awards. I mean this is fine if they really give the best performance, but the absurdity of Kaaluya not getting in for lead or especially Stanfield being campaigned as supporting is really an embarrassment. As for Kaaluya, I guess they awarded more the character he portrayed than really the acting performance with how much of a strong leader Hampton was. Interesting also to see what career paths his partner (romantic) and his son took after Hampton's death. We find out about that before the closing credits. I cannot talk a lot more about the cast here, simply because I do not know most of the actors. Two exceptions though. Martin Sheen is one, but his role and screen time are so limited that even his biggest fans may overlook him. This could also have to do with the make-up I guess. But Jesse Plemons from Breaking Bad gets a well-deserved mention. He plays the third-biggest character and has not a lot to work with, but when there is something like the scene when he is supposed to talk about his daughter or when he basically blackmails Stanfield's character to get what he wants, he is really nailing his parts so well. Would have been nice to see him nominated in the supporting category because he really belonged there in terms of screen time and his character's significance, but also in terms of how good his performance was. It's kinda hilarious he is now having a better career than basically everybody from Breaking Bad and that may also include Cranston, but then again Plemons is much younger than all the other key players, even Paul. But yeah, I guess the latter was the one you could have expected to break through after the end of the show, but nope it's Plemons reaping all the success and I am optimistic he will be nominated for an Oscar too one day. This film is another piece of evidence that he is on the right track. I also liked the scene in which he joined the rally/speech and acts like everybody else when he supports Hampton with his voice and fists.

Aside from that, you get the usual. Some romance linked to Hampton's character and he is even about to become a dad. Inclusions of other influential Black leaders getting killed, which is a bit of a build-up to Hampton's death, but the Judas component is also omnipresent as Stanfield's character is really only an offender to some extent. He basically does not have much of a choice. Also once again because they cannot depict the Black character as a real antagonist with the state Hollywood is in right now. He may have robbed these other Blacks, which makes sense they showed it this way because Black-on-White crime was not really an option. The talk about a badge being more dangerous than a gun was kinda interesting though, even if perhaps a bit too obvious. But yeah, later on Stanfield's character is also threatened by Plemons' that he will reveal his identity which would certainly result in him being killed by his own men. Just like how it happened to somebody else before that. Or actually it didn't as we find out in another exhibit of how Plemons' team are the really bad guys here. They let somebody else happily get away with murder if it works in their favor. Of course, Stanfield's character is still impressed by Kaluuya's, which further adds to the intention that we should see him as a likable guy too, even with how he tries to sneak out of the building and how he eventually is the reason for Kaluuya's character's death. He gives the latter the drink that has him deep asleep. He tells Plemons' character what the apartment or house looks like in detail. He does not pull the trigger on Hampton in the end, but kinda indirectly he does. Or you could say he was just a pawn and if not he, then somebody else would have done it. There the film also offers interesting aspects at the very end when we see the real life version of Stanfield's character and what he has to say about all that. Not likable at all with how he sees himself there, but you can also wonder how much of it was his true self with his (apparent?) suicide following the night of these massive revelations.

Okay, that's pretty much it. Overall, there is unfortunately a great deal of agenda with this movie, but it's still tense and entertaining and sometimes even thrilling, so no real hesitation for me here in giving this a positive recommendation. Still, you should only watch it for entertainment reasons and not if you are looking for historic accuracy. The attention to detail is quite nice though. I mentioned some examples, but you could also take the one other Black fella he meets at the club and who is maybe just another pawn. You will probably focus on the woman there initially, but she is just a side character to these two men. How the other man gives him his fake badge from early on was also interesting, even if the sound effects coming with this moment were surely a bit over the top. Yeah, I think the positive here is more frequent than the negative and especially Stanfield and Plemons turn it into quality for the most part. Try to look beyond scenes like those in which we see Kaluuya's character turn his enemies into companions or how unlikely it was there that a guy from the car scam from very early on was around and you can enjoy the watch here too. I still think it is a bit (or more) of a shame that the movie did not put more objectivity on display, but tried to fit certain agendas. I am not surprised though. So yeah, decent film all in all, but nothing more and the awards attention and also the ratings here on imdb and other websites are far too high. It's watchable though, highly at times. There's worse ways to spend 125 minutes I guess. But also better ways and better (2021) movies.

The FBI, led by J. Edgar Hoover, is focused on taking down the Black Panther Party and other leftist movements. Agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons) pushes car thief Bill O'Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) to be his informant and to infiltrate the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. It is led by charismatic Chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) who is trying to improve Chicago and battle the racist police force.

There is an obvious connection to today's events. It's of its time and the present-day time. It's definitely taking a point of view but one can't really argue against it. For sure, it's slanted. Roy Mitchell is the key to finding balance but Jesse Plemons doesn't give him enough depth. He has one fascinating talk about Emmett Till. That's an interesting road to go for that character but it feels like he stops short. He turns into just another callous racist cop when he could be deeper. As for the other characters, Stanfield is the standout and Kaluuya is the saint. Both are great in their roles. This is a very compelling story and its relevance makes it more powerful.

An electrifying and spectacular film that through the strength and magic of cinema, denounces the abuses of people who at the time fought for their people and who unfortunately continue to do so, not only establishing itself as one of the best films ever, but managing to be the bearer of profound and devastating messages. The film through the telling of the story manages to shine and to be a real manifesto for the struggle of men who have done everything possible to say "I am a human and I have a value", in this case a community of black people who have suffered injustices and abuses without a valid reason. Judas and the Black Messiah is directed by Shaka King with extreme intelligence and tact, with creativity and honesty; excellent choice of the cinematography and music that enhance the scenes and emotions of the brilliant cast (including Jesse Plemons, always a pleasure to see him acting),but above all the impeccable and perfect LaKeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya who lead the film with commitment, honesty and dedication, once again managing to establish themselves among the best actors of contemporary cinema, not only increasing the value of the film, but creating a real acting masterclass. Judas and the Black Messiah is rich in elements that blend between reality and cinema, but in this case is nothing more than a single and well-defined world to be taken as an example and therefore as a purpose to follow, as well as the characters of the true story tried to do.